Mutant Mondays is my weekly transmission of resonant ideas and links. Highlighting artists, opportunities, quotes, media, events, projects I want to share, and personal reflections on contemporary topics. If interested, reach out to discuss potential partnerships! To feature your event or share an artist, opportunity, or project, please email me at contact@edgarfabianfrias.org
The iconic Hollywood Sign rises through LA's signature haze, serving as both a landmark and a silent witness to the city's ongoing struggle with air quality following the wildfires that devastated the area.
I want to start off today’s edition (the first ever!) of Mutant Mondays with a quote from Octavia Butler:
“People are setting fires to get rid of whomever they dislike from personal enemies to anyone who looks or sounds foreign or racially different. People are setting fires because they’re frustrated, angry, hopeless. They have no power to improve their lives, but they have the power to make others even more miserable. And the only way to prove to yourself that you have power is to use it.”
Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower
I’ve been trying to process the gravity of what happened here in Los Angeles since the wildfires broke out and what it has revealed to us. Of course, I want to start by expressing how deeply aware I am of the love, care, and generosity that Angelenos have for one another. I’ve been blown away by the incredible amount of mutual aid, fundraising, grant-giving, and support that has emerged ever since the fires broke out. If you’d like to learn more, I highly recommend checking out this blog post I created, which features a growing list of resources and aid available for people and ways you can help.
On the other side of this, I have also seen, quite depressingly, just how negligent, inept, and frankly, useless our governmental and corporate systems are during moments like these. The fact that so many people have been denied help from FEMA (for a whopping $700) or are battling non-stop with their insurance companies while still living amid an active catastrophe highlights the deep and systemic issues within these crumbling frameworks.
Today also marks the inauguration day of one of the most corrupt and immoral individuals this country has ever seen rise to power, and his first executive order announces an “energy crisis,” which we know will lead to more fracking, coal production, and hazardous drilling for oil, instead of declaring a state of emergency regarding climate-related disasters and the how it has recently triggered the biggest and most expensive natural disaster in American history. This is after we’ve witnessed record-breaking disasters across the country, from tornadoes to floods, hurricanes, and extreme fluctuations in temperature and natural seasons.
And it’s not like this is a “radical” or even “new” viewpoint. I’ve been reflecting a lot on Octavia Butler recently and the intuition and deep knowledge she painstakingly tried to convey throughout her lifetime. As you read in the introductory quote to this blog entry, you can see that the fires symbolize something. They symbolize power, helplessness, agency, and deep imbalance. The fact that several arsonists have been arrested, many of whom are unhoused, is also uncanny but highlights how the ever-growing inequalities in our economic system, combined with this climate catastrophe, are only worsening our situation.
Watching this video of Octavia Butler discussing her "Parable" series with Democracy Now! gave me chills, especially as California confronts capitalist and climate-driven wildfires. Butler’s "Parable" series from the '90s is set in 2024 during a period of climate crisis, social inequality, and fascism, featuring a politician who promises to "make America great again." In a 2005 interview, one of her last interviews before her death, Butler talked about the inspiration behind her novels. Butler lived in Pasadena and is buried in a cemetery in Altadena that suffered partial damage during the recent Eaton fire.
Unfortunately, we are far from escaping this catastrophe. Now that the fires have started to be contained, there is much danger as we grapple with the tons and tons of toxic waste that have been created as a result.
If you live in Los Angeles, I encourage you to watch or listen to this conversation between Jesse Damiani and Jane Williams on the Urgent Futures Podcast, where they share just how dangerous and life-threatening it is for us to be exposed to the toxic ash, smoke, and particles caused by this fire, and what we can do to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Please share this information widely, as the government and corporations are trying to quickly push us “back to normal," just as they did during COVID-19, to maintain their profits at the expense of our health and safety. The four main takeaways are: Don’t return to the burn zones, even if you’re told they’re “safe,” keep masking with a KN95 mask or P100 mask, keep your shoes outside your home, and wet mop and dust your home as often as possible.
If you want even more information, I encourage you to watch this webinar from the Coalition for Clean Air. It discusses the impact wildfires are having here and the importance of continuing to mask and run our air purifiers. You can also look at their resource list for more information and ways to protect yourself and your loved ones during this time.
I would love to hear from folks who live in Los Angeles. How are you feeling about air quality or overall in regards to your health and safety? Do you feel like the government is doing enough to protect us? Do you have any more tips or ideas on how we can stay safe during this time of crisis?
As an artist, I’ve been interested in highlighting the often hidden and obscured nature of industrialization and the environment and imagining ways to heal and spiritually transform its effects.
For example, in 2017, I completed a large-scale social practice project called Give US Home Spider that examined the impact of industrial shipping routes originating from the Port of Los Angeles. Unfortunately, as part of this project, I learned through research with environmentalist and policy advisor Demi Espinoza that I had grown up in an area downwind from a cement processing plant and quarry. As a result, my family and I were exposed to toxic chemicals, including hexavalent chromium, which causes respiratory and circulatory issues—two complications I’ve dealt with my entire life.
I also discovered that the company and government did nothing to warn residents about this exposure. Erin Brockovich did assist some residents in filing a class-action lawsuit, but sadly, my family and many Spanish-speaking families in the area were not contacted.
As you can see, this all feels quite personal. It reflects both my creative interests and, sadly, a lived experience I encountered while growing up in a predominantly low-income immigrant community in Southern California.
Resonant Transmissions (weekly link roundup!)
The LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund is officially open and can provide up to $10,000 in assistance to artists and arts workers who have been affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. You can donate toward this fund here.
I listened to the entire season of The Telepathy Tapes in one day! It’s a compelling podcast that delves into the extraordinary psychic and spiritual gifts shared by children with nonverbal autism. Their wisdom and messages implore us to question the materialist paradigm that shapes our fundamental understanding of consciousness and reality.
The divine Ylva Mara Radziszewski has created a Spell To Torment Bigots that I’m overjoyed to share with the wonderful web of witches who read my blog.
The wonderfully generous Brook Albrigo has gifted us with a grounding and hopeful January 20th meditation inspired by the Star Card and the energy of Aquarius.
I highly recommend you check out Mieke Marple’s recent substack on The Anxious Generation & The Social Media Mental Illness Epidemic. Especially if you have been feeling torn about getting off social media and need an extra boost of information to support your decision-making process.